Method and apparatus for refrigerant leak detection

ABSTRACT

A method of monitoring a heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) system for refrigerant leak. The method includes monitoring, by a controller, operation of the HVAC system and determining, using a plurality of leak detectors, whether refrigerant within the HVAC system is leaking. Responsive to a positive determination in the determining step, receiving, by the controller, a refrigerant leak warning signal and modifying, by the controller, operation of the HVAC system to prevent the refrigerant from entering an enclosed space.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present invention relates generally to heating, ventilation, and airconditioning (HVAC) systems and, more particularly, but not by way oflimitation, to a method of and system for detecting refrigerant leak andmodifying operation of the HVAC system to prevent refrigerant fromentering an enclosed space.

HISTORY OF RELATED ART

HVAC systems are used to regulate environmental conditions within anenclosed space. Typically, HVAC systems have a circulation fan thatpulls air from the enclosed space through ducts and pushes the air backinto the enclosed space through additional ducts after conditioning theair (e.g., heating, cooling, humidifying, or dehumidifying the air).

SUMMARY

A method of monitoring a heating, ventilation, and air conditioning(HVAC) system for refrigerant leak. The method includes monitoring, by acontroller, operation of the HVAC system and determining, using aplurality of leak detectors, whether refrigerant within the HVAC systemis leaking. Responsive to a positive determination in the determiningstep, receiving, by the controller, a refrigerant leak warning signaland modifying, by the controller, operation of the HVAC system toprevent the refrigerant from entering an enclosed space.

A heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) system. This systemincludes a plurality of leak detectors associated with at least onecomponent of the HVAC system and a controller configured to communicatewith the plurality of leak detectors. The plurality of leak detectorsare configured to determine whether refrigerant within the HVAC systemis leaking, responsive to a positive determination, forward to thecontroller, a refrigerant leak warning signal and upon receiving therefrigerant leak warning signal, the controller modifies operation ofthe HVAC system to prevent the refrigerant from entering an enclosedspace.

A method of monitoring a heating, ventilation, and air conditioning(HVAC) system for refrigerant leak. The method includes monitoring, by acontroller, operation of the HVAC system, determining, using a pluralityof leak detectors, whether refrigerant within the HVAC system isleaking, responsive to a positive determination in the determining step,receiving, by the controller, a refrigerant leak warning signal andmodifying, by the controller, operation of the HVAC system to preventthe refrigerant from entering an enclosed space. The modifying includessuspending operation of an air blower, activating an exhaust fan,regulating economizer dampers to be in an open configuration andregulating return and supply air dampers to be in a closed configuration

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

A more complete understanding of embodiments of the present inventionmay be obtained by reference to the following Detailed Description whentaken in conjunction with the accompanying Drawings wherein:

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of an illustrative HVAC system;

FIG. 2 is a side view of an illustrative HVAC system; and

FIG. 3 is a flow diagram illustrating an illustrative process to monitorthe HVAC system for refrigerant leak.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

FIG. 1 illustrates an HVAC system 100. In a typical embodiment, the HVACsystem 100 is a networked HVAC system configured to condition air via,for example, heating, cooling, humidifying, or dehumidifying. The HVACsystem 100 can be a residential system or a commercial system such as,for example, a roof top system. For illustration, the HVAC system 100 asillustrated in FIG. 1 includes various components; however, in otherembodiments, the HVAC system 100 may include additional components thatare not illustrated but typically included within HVAC systems.

The HVAC system 100 includes a variable-speed circulation fan 102, a gasheat 104, electric heat 106 typically associated with the variable-speedcirculation fan 102, and a refrigerant evaporator coil 108, alsotypically associated with the variable-speed circulation fan 102. Forillustrative purposes, only variable-speed circulation fan 102 isdisclosed; however, in other embodiments, fixed speed and multi-speedcirculation fans may be used as required. The variable-speed circulationfan 102, the gas heat 104, the electric heat 106, and the refrigerantevaporator coil 108 are collectively referred to as an “indoor unit”110. In a typical embodiment, the indoor unit 110 is located within, orin close proximity to, an enclosed space 101. The HVAC system 102 alsoincludes a variable-speed compressor 112, an associated condenser coil114, and a condenser fan 113, which are typically referred to as an“outdoor unit” 116. In a typical embodiment, the condenser fan 113 maybe at least one of a fixed-speed condenser fan, a multi-speed condenserfan, and a variable-speed condenser fan. In various embodiments, theoutdoor unit 116 is, for example, a rooftop unit or a ground-level unit.The variable-speed compressor 112 and the associated condenser coil 114are connected to an associated evaporator coil 108 by a refrigerant line118. In a typical embodiment, the variable-speed compressor 112 is, forexample, a single-stage compressor, a multi-stage compressor, asingle-speed compressor, or a variable-speed compressor. Thevariable-speed circulation fan 102, sometimes referred to as an airblower, is configured to operate at different capacities (i.e., variablemotor speeds) to circulate air through the HVAC system 100, whereby thecirculated air is conditioned and supplied to the enclosed space 101.For illustrative purposes, only variable-speed compressor 112 isdisclosed; however, in other embodiments, fixed speed and multi-stagecompressors may be used as required.

Still referring to FIG. 1, the HVAC system 100 includes an HVACcontroller 120 that is configured to control operation of the variouscomponents of the HVAC system 100 such as, for example, thevariable-speed circulation fan 102, the gas heat 104, the electric heat106, the variable-speed compressor 112, and the condenser fan 113. Insome embodiments, the HVAC system 100 can be a zoned system. In suchembodiments, the HVAC system 100 includes a zone controller 122, dampers124, and a plurality of environment sensors 126. In a typicalembodiment, the HVAC controller 120 cooperates with the zone controller122 and the dampers 124 to regulate the environment of the enclosedspace 101.

The HVAC controller 120 may be an integrated controller or a distributedcontroller that directs operation of the HVAC system 100. In a typicalembodiment, the HVAC controller 120 includes an interface to receive,for example, thermostat calls, component health data, temperaturesetpoints, air blower control signals, environmental conditions, andoperating mode status for various zones of the HVAC system 100. In atypical embodiment, the HVAC controller 120 also includes a processorand a memory to direct operation of the HVAC system 100 including, forexample, a speed of the variable-speed circulation fan 102.

Still referring to FIG. 1, in some embodiments, the plurality ofenvironment sensors 126 are associated with the HVAC controller 120 andalso optionally associated with a user interface 128. In someembodiments, the user interface 128 provides additional functions suchas, for example, operational, diagnostic, status message display, and avisual interface that allows at least one of an installer, a user, asupport entity, and a service provider to perform actions with respectto the HVAC system 100. In some embodiments, the user interface 128 is,for example, a thermostat of the HVAC system 100. In other embodiments,the user interface 128 is associated with at least one sensor of theplurality of environment sensors 126 to determine the environmentalcondition information and communicate that information to the user. Theuser interface 128 may also include a display, buttons, a microphone, aspeaker, or other components to communicate with the user. Additionally,the user interface 128 may include a processor and memory that isconfigured to receive user-determined parameters, and calculateoperational parameters of the HVAC system 100 as disclosed herein.

In a typical embodiment, the HVAC system 100 is configured tocommunicate with a plurality of devices such as, for example, amonitoring device 130, a communication device 132, and the like. In atypical embodiment, the monitoring device 130 is not part of the HVACsystem. For example, the monitoring device 130 is a server or computerof a third party such as, for example, a manufacturer, a support entity,a service provider, and the like. In other embodiments, the monitoringdevice 130 is located at an office of, for example, the manufacturer,the support entity, the service provider, and the like.

In a typical embodiment, the communication device 132 is a non-HVACdevice having a primary function that is not associated with HVACsystems. For example, non-HVAC devices include mobile-computing devicesthat are configured to interact with the HVAC system 100 to monitor andmodify at least some of the operating parameters of the HVAC system 100.Mobile computing devices may be, for example, a personal computer (e.g.,desktop or laptop), a tablet computer, a mobile device (e.g., smartphone), and the like. In a typical embodiment, the communication device132 includes at least one processor, memory and a user interface, suchas a display. One skilled in the art will also understand that thecommunication device 132 disclosed herein includes other components thatare typically included in such devices including, for example, a powersupply, a communications interface, and the like.

The zone controller 122 is configured to manage movement of conditionedair to designated zones of the enclosed space. Each of the designatedzones include at least one conditioning or demand unit such as, forexample, the gas heat 104 and at least one user interface 128 such as,for example, the thermostat. The zone-controlled HVAC system 100 allowsthe user to independently control the temperature in the designatedzones. In a typical embodiment, the zone controller 122 operateselectronic dampers 124 to control air flow to the zones of the enclosedspace.

In some embodiments, a data bus 134, which in the illustrated embodimentis a serial bus, couples various components of the HVAC system 100together such that data is communicated therebetween. In a typicalembodiment, the data bus 134 may include, for example, any combinationof hardware, software embedded in a computer readable medium, or encodedlogic incorporated in hardware or otherwise stored (e.g., firmware) tocouple components of the HVAC system 100 to each other. As an exampleand not by way of limitation, the data bus 134 may include anAccelerated Graphics Port (AGP) or other graphics bus, a Controller AreaNetwork (CAN) bus, a front-side bus (FSB), a HYPERTRANSPORT (HT)interconnect, an INFINIBAND interconnect, a low-pin-count (LPC) bus, amemory bus, a Micro Channel Architecture (MCA) bus, a PeripheralComponent Interconnect (PCI) bus, a PCI-Express (PCI-X) bus, a serialadvanced technology attachment (SATA) bus, a Video Electronics StandardsAssociation local (VLB) bus, or any other suitable bus or a combinationof two or more of these. In various embodiments, the data bus 134 mayinclude any number, type, or configuration of data buses 134, whereappropriate. In particular embodiments, one or more data buses 134(which may each include an address bus and a data bus) may couple theHVAC controller 120 to other components of the HVAC system 100. In otherembodiments, connections between various components of the HVAC system100 are wired. For example, conventional cable and contacts may be usedto couple the HVAC controller 120 to the various components. In someembodiments, a wireless connection is employed to provide at least someof the connections between components of the HVAC system such as, forexample, a connection between the HVAC controller 120 and thevariable-speed circulation fan 102 or the plurality of environmentsensors 126.

Leak detection systems for the detection and monitoring of refrigerantsare well known. Typically, the leak detection systems include a gasrefrigerant detector, a monitor, and relay system to alert individualsand remote monitoring stations that a problem exists relative torefrigerant leak. Presently, in an event of refrigerant leak in the HVACsystem, the variable-speed circulation fan 102 continues to operateresulting in the refrigerant entering the enclosed space 101.Refrigerant leak resulting in the refrigerant entering the enclosedspace 101 is a health hazard. Additionally, in the case of flammablerefrigerants, refrigerant entering the enclosed space 101 is asubstantial fire hazard. What is needed is a method of and system fordetecting refrigerant leak and modifying operation of the HVAC system toprevent the refrigerant from entering the enclosed space 101 untilrepairs are completed. In an effort to monitor refrigerant leak withinHVAC systems and prevent health and fire hazard situations, exemplaryembodiments disclose placing a plurality of leak detectors at variouscomponents of the HVAC system 100. In a typical embodiment, a pluralityof leak detectors may be placed around, for example, the variable-speedcirculation fan 102. In the context of the present application, a leakdetector is defined as a device that detects refrigerant leak.

The exemplary HVAC system 100 includes a plurality of leak detectors 127a, 127 b that are positioned on various components of the HVAC system100. In particular, the plurality of leak detectors 127 a, 127 b arepositioned around the variable-speed circulation fan 102. Forillustrative purposes, only two leak detectors 127(a), 127(b) aredisclosed as being positioned around the variable-speed circulation fan102; however, in alternative embodiments, additional leak detectors maybe positioned on other components as dictated by design requirements. Ina typical embodiment, the plurality of leak detectors 127 a, 127 b areconfigured to detect refrigerant leak within the HVAC system 100. In atypical embodiment, plurality of leak detectors 127 a, 127 b areelectronic leak detectors such as, for example, corona discharge leakdetectors, heated diode leak detectors, ultrasonic leak detectors, andthe like.

In a typical embodiment, the plurality of leak detectors 127 a, 127 bare configured to communicate with the HVAC controller 120. Inparticular, upon refrigerant leak detection, the plurality of leakdetectors 127 a, 127 b communicate a refrigerant leak warning signal tothe HVAC controller 120. In some embodiments, the data bus 134 maycouple the HVAC controller 120 to the plurality of leak detectors 127 a,127 b. In other embodiments, connections between the HVAC controller 120and the plurality of leak detectors 127 a, 127 b are wired. For example,conventional cable and contacts may be used to couple the HVACcontroller 120 to the plurality of leak detectors 127 a, 127 b. In someembodiments, a wireless connection is employed to provide at least someof the connections between the HVAC controller 120 and the plurality ofleak detectors 127 a, 127 b.

In a typical embodiment, during operation of the HVAC system 100, theplurality of leak detectors 127 a, 127 b are configured to continuouslymonitor the HVAC system 100 for refrigerant leak. Upon detection of therefrigerant leak, the plurality of leak detectors 127 a, 127 bcommunicate the refrigerant leak warning signal to the HVAC controller120. Subsequently, the HVAC controller 120 modifies operation of variouscomponents of the HVAC system 100 to prevent the refrigerant fromentering the enclosed space 101. In one embodiment, the HVAC controller120 suspends operation of the variable-speed circulation fan 102 whileactivating an exhaust fan 121 to prevent refrigerant from entering theenclosed space 101. Additional details relative to the modifiedoperation of the HVAC system 100 upon detection of the refrigerant leakwill be discussed in detail below. In some embodiments, in addition tosuspending operation of the variable-speed circulation fan 102, the HVACcontroller 120 forwards the refrigerant leak warning signal to themonitoring device 130 to monitor a level of the refrigerant leak. In atypical embodiment, the monitoring device 130 is not part of the HVACsystem. For example, the monitoring device 130 is a server or computerof the third party such as, for example, the manufacturer, the supportentity, the service provider, and the like. In other embodiments, themonitoring device 130 is located at an office of, for example, themanufacturer, the support entity, the service provider, and the like.

FIG. 2 is a side view of an illustrative HVAC system 200. Forillustration, the HVAC system 200 as illustrated in FIG. 2 is a rooftopunit. For illustrative purposes, FIG. 2 will be described hereinrelative to FIG. 1. The HVAC system 200 includes a return air duct 210having return air dampers 211, an outdoor air duct 215, economizerdampers 217, a compressor system 220, filters 230, an evaporator coil240, a heat section 250, a gas supply 255, an air blower 260, and atleast one exhaust fan 121. The HVAC system 200 also includes a housing270, a base 280 with forklift slots 285, a supply air duct 290 havingsupply air dampers 291, and a plurality of leak detectors 127 a, 127 bthat are positioned on various components of the HVAC system 200. In atypical embodiment, the plurality of leak detectors 127 a, 127 b arepositioned around the air blower 260. The return air duct 210 and thesupply air duct 290 are represented by dashed lines through the base 280in this side view. The HVAC system 200 includes additional componentsthat are not visible from this view due to various walls, compartmentsor equipment, but are typically included in conventional HVAC systems.For example, the HVAC system 200 also include a power supply, condensercoils and a condenser fan(s).

An air flow path through the HVAC system 200 is represented by thearrows. Air is received in the HVAC system 200 via the return duct 210(i.e., return air) and/or the outside air duct 215 (i.e., outside air).The dampers 217 can be controlled to determine the air mixture. Thereceived air (e.g., return, outside or a mixture thereof) is then pulledacross the filters 230, the evaporator coil 240. The air blower 260moves the air across the heat section 250 and discharges air to theenclosed space 101 via the supply air duct 290. The air dischargedthrough the supply air duct 290 to the enclosed space 101 may beconditioned due to either a cooling mode or a heating mode of the HVACsystem 200. Additionally, in some embodiments, the HVAC system 200includes gravity air dampers 216 that allow for the passage of air frominside the enclosed space 101 to the outside to prevent overpressureinside the enclosed space 101. In other embodiments, motorized fans maybe utilized to remove air from inside the enclosed space 101 to theoutside.

The air blower 260 includes a motor 262, a scroll fan 263, and a belt264. The belt 264 is coupled to the magnet motor 262 and the scroll fan263 to rotate a fan shaft 267 via a motor shaft 265. The air blower 260further includes an inverter 298 that is electrically coupled to themotor 262 and configured to operate the motor at variable speeds. Theinverter 298 may also be mechanically coupled to the motor 262 or,alternatively, may be positioned in another location within the HVACsystem 200. The inverter 298 is electrically coupled to the HVACcontroller 120 and a power supply of the HVAC system 200 via the powerand control wiring 299. The power and control wiring 299 may beconnected to the inverter 298 via conventional means. In addition toproviding variable-speed capability for the motor 262, the inverter 298is also configured to soft start the motor 262 in order to preventdamage to the air blower 260.

The HVAC system 200 also includes a blower deck 269 in which the airblower 260 is mounted. The blower deck 269 is typically constructed toslide or roll to allow easier access to the air blower 260. The blowerdeck 269 is usually constructed of a metal sufficiently rigid to supportthe air blower 260. The blower deck 269 may be coupled to the base 280for support. The blower deck 269 also includes an opening (not visible)that corresponds to the supply air duct 290 for discharging air.

In a typical embodiment, the plurality of leak detectors 127 a, 127 bare configured to communicate with the HVAC controller 120. Inparticular, the plurality of leak detectors 127 a, 127 b are configuredto communicate a refrigerant leak warning signal to the HVAC controller120. In a typical embodiment, during operation of the HVAC system 200,the plurality of leak detectors 127 a, 127 b are configured tocontinuously monitor HVAC system 200 for refrigerant leak. Upondetection of the refrigerant leak, the plurality of leak detectors 127a, 127 b communicate the refrigerant leak warning signal to the HVACcontroller 120. Subsequently, the HVAC controller 120 modifies operationof the various components of the HVAC system 200 to prevent therefrigerant from entering the enclosed space 101. In one embodiment, theHVAC controller 120 suspends operation of the air blower 260 whileactivating the exhaust fan 121 to dissipate the refrigerant outdoors.Additionally, the HVAC controller 120 regulates the economizer dampers217 to be in an open configuration while regulating the return andsupply air dampers 211, 291 to be in a closed configuration. Such aconfiguration of the economizer dampers 217 and the return and supplyair dampers 211, 291 prevents the refrigerant from entering the enclosedspace 101 while dissipating the refrigerant outdoors.

FIG. 3 is a flow diagram illustrating an illustrative process 300 tomonitor the HVAC system 100, 200 for refrigerant leak. For illustrativepurposes, the process 300 will be described herein relative to FIGS.1-2. The process 300 starts at step 302. At step 304, the HVAC system100, 200 performs normal operation to condition air via, for example,heating, cooling, humidifying, or dehumidifying. At step 306, it isdetermined whether refrigerant leak is detected. The plurality of leakdetectors 127 a, 127 b continuously monitor the HVAC system 100, 200 forrefrigerant leak. In a typical embodiment, plurality of leak detectors127 a, 127 b are electronic leak detectors such as, for example, coronadischarge leak detectors, heated diode leak detectors, ultrasonic leakdetectors, and the like. If it is determined at step 308 that norefrigerant leak has been detected, the process 300 returns to step 306.However, if it is determined at step 308 that refrigerant leak isdetected, the process 300 proceeds to step 310. At step 310, theplurality of leak detectors 127 a, 127 b communicate the refrigerantleak warning signal to the HVAC controller 120. Subsequently, at step312, the HVAC controller 120 modifies operation of various components ofthe HVAC system 100, 200 to prevent the refrigerant from entering theenclosed space 101. In one embodiment, the HVAC controller 120 suspendsoperation of the air blower 260 while activating the exhaust fan 121 todissipate the refrigerant outdoors. Additionally, the HVAC controller120 regulates the economizer dampers 217 to be in an open configurationwhile regulating the return and supply air dampers 211, 291 to be in aclosed configuration. Such a configuration of the economizer dampers 217and the return and supply air dampers 211, 291 prevents the refrigerantfrom entering the enclosed space 101 while dissipating the refrigerantoutdoors. At step 314, the process 300 ends.

For purposes of this patent application, the term computer-readablestorage medium encompasses one or more tangible computer-readablestorage media possessing structures. As an example and not by way oflimitation, a computer-readable storage medium may include asemiconductor-based or other integrated circuit (IC) (such as, forexample, a field-programmable gate array (FPGA) or anapplication-specific IC (ASIC)), a hard disk, an HDD, a hybrid harddrive (HHD), an optical disc, an optical disc drive (ODD), amagneto-optical disc, a magneto-optical drive, a floppy disk, a floppydisk drive (FDD), magnetic tape, a holographic storage medium, asolid-state drive (SSD), a RAM-drive, a SECURE DIGITAL card, a SECUREDIGITAL drive, a flash memory card, a flash memory drive, or any othersuitable tangible computer-readable storage medium or a combination oftwo or more of these, where appropriate.

Particular embodiments may include one or more computer-readable storagemedia implementing any suitable storage. In particular embodiments, acomputer-readable storage medium implements one or more portions of theprocessor, one or more portions of the system memory, or a combinationof these, where appropriate. In particular embodiments, acomputer-readable storage medium implements RAM or ROM. In particularembodiments, a computer-readable storage medium implements volatile orpersistent memory. In particular embodiments, one or morecomputer-readable storage media embody encoded software.

In this patent application, reference to encoded software may encompassone or more applications, bytecode, one or more computer programs, oneor more executables, one or more instructions, logic, machine code, oneor more scripts, or source code, and vice versa, where appropriate, thathave been stored or encoded in a computer-readable storage medium. Inparticular embodiments, encoded software includes one or moreapplication programming interfaces (APIs) stored or encoded in acomputer-readable storage medium. Particular embodiments may use anysuitable encoded software written or otherwise expressed in any suitableprogramming language or combination of programming languages stored orencoded in any suitable type or number of computer-readable storagemedia. In particular embodiments, encoded software may be expressed assource code or object code. In particular embodiments, encoded softwareis expressed in a higher-level programming language, such as, forexample, C, Python, Java, or a suitable extension thereof. In particularembodiments, encoded software is expressed in a lower-level programminglanguage, such as assembly language (or machine code). In particularembodiments, encoded software is expressed in JAVA. In particularembodiments, encoded software is expressed in Hyper Text Markup Language(HTML), Extensible Markup Language (XML), or other suitable markuplanguage.

Depending on the embodiment, certain acts, events, or functions of anyof the algorithms described herein can be performed in a differentsequence, can be added, merged, or left out altogether (e.g., not alldescribed acts or events are necessary for the practice of thealgorithms). Moreover, in certain embodiments, acts or events can beperformed concurrently, e.g., through multi-threaded processing,interrupt processing, or multiple processors or processor cores or onother parallel architectures, rather than sequentially. Although certaincomputer-implemented tasks are described as being performed by aparticular entity, other embodiments are possible in which these tasksare performed by a different entity.

Conditional language used herein, such as, among others, “can,” “might,”“may,” “e.g.,” and the like, unless specifically stated otherwise, orotherwise understood within the context as used, is generally intendedto convey that certain embodiments include, while other embodiments donot include, certain features, elements and/or states. Thus, suchconditional language is not generally intended to imply that features,elements and/or states are in any way required for one or moreembodiments or that one or more embodiments necessarily include logicfor deciding, with or without author input or prompting, whether thesefeatures, elements and/or states are included or are to be performed inany particular embodiment.

While the above detailed description has shown, described, and pointedout novel features as applied to various embodiments, it will beunderstood that various omissions, substitutions, and changes in theform and details of the devices or algorithms illustrated can be madewithout departing from the spirit of the disclosure. As will berecognized, the processes described herein can be embodied within a formthat does not provide all of the features and benefits set forth herein,as some features can be used or practiced separately from others. Thescope of protection is defined by the appended claims rather than by theforegoing description. All changes which come within the meaning andrange of equivalency of the claims are to be embraced within theirscope.

What is claimed is:
 1. A method of monitoring a heating, ventilation,and air conditioning (HVAC) system for refrigerant leak, the methodcomprising: monitoring, by a controller, operation of the HVAC system;determining, using a plurality of leak detectors, whether refrigerantwithin the HVAC system is leaking; responsive to a positivedetermination in the determining step, receiving, by the controller, arefrigerant leak warning signal; and modifying, by the controller,operation of the HVAC system to prevent the refrigerant from entering anenclosed space.
 2. The method of claim 1 further comprising: responsiveto a negative determination in the determining step, returning to thedetermining step.
 3. The method of claim 1, wherein the modifying stepcomprises: suspending operation of an air blower; activating an exhaustfan; regulating economizer dampers to be in an open configuration; andregulating return and supply air dampers to be in a closedconfiguration.
 4. The method of claim 1, wherein the plurality of leakdetectors are positioned around an air blower.
 5. The method of claim 1,wherein the plurality of leak detectors comprises at least one of acorona discharge leak detector, a heated diode leak detectors, and anultrasonic leak detectors.
 6. The method of claim 1, wherein thecontroller is configured to communicate with the plurality of leakdetectors wirelessly.
 7. The method of claim 1, wherein the controlleris configured to communicate with the plurality of leak detectors usinga cable connection.
 8. A heating, ventilation, and air conditioning(HVAC) system comprising: a plurality of leak detectors associated withat least one component of the HVAC system; a controller configured tocommunicate with the plurality of leak detectors; wherein the pluralityof leak detectors are configured to: determine whether refrigerantwithin the HVAC system is leaking; and responsive to a positivedetermination, forward to the controller, a refrigerant leak warningsignal; and upon receiving the refrigerant leak warning signal, thecontroller modifies operation of the HVAC system to prevent therefrigerant from entering an enclosed space.
 9. The HVAC system of claim8, wherein the modified operation of the HVAC system causes thecontroller to: suspend operation of an air blower; activate an exhaustfan; regulate economizer dampers to be in an open configuration; andregulate return and supply air dampers to be in a closed configuration.10. The HVAC system of claim 8, wherein the plurality of leak detectorsare positioned around the at least one component, wherein the at leastone component comprises an air blower.
 11. The HVAC system of claim 8,wherein the plurality of leak detectors comprises at least one of acorona discharge leak detector, a heated diode leak detectors, and anultrasonic leak detectors.
 12. The HVAC system of claim 8, wherein thecontroller is configured to communicate with the plurality of leakdetectors wirelessly.
 13. The HVAC system of claim 8, wherein thecontroller is configured to communicate with the plurality of leakdetectors using a cable connection.
 14. The HVAC system of claim 8,wherein the modified operation of the HVAC system prevents therefrigerant from entering the enclosed space.
 15. The HVAC system ofclaim 8, wherein the modified operation of the HVAC system dissipatesthe refrigerant outdoors.
 16. A method of monitoring a heating,ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) system for refrigerant leak,the method comprising: monitoring, by a controller, operation of theHVAC system; determining, using a plurality of leak detectors, whetherrefrigerant within the HVAC system is leaking; responsive to a positivedetermination in the determining step, receiving, by the controller, arefrigerant leak warning signal; modifying, by the controller, operationof the HVAC system to prevent the refrigerant from entering an enclosedspace; wherein the modifying comprises: suspending operation of an airblower; activating an exhaust fan; regulating economizer dampers to bein an open configuration; and regulating return and supply air dampersto be in a closed configuration.
 17. The method of claim 16, wherein theplurality of leak detectors comprises at least one of a corona dischargeleak detector, a heated diode leak detectors, and an ultrasonic leakdetectors.
 18. The method of claim 16, wherein the plurality of leakdetectors are positioned around an air blower.
 19. The method of claim16, wherein the controller is configured to communicate with theplurality of leak detectors wirelessly.
 20. The method of claim 16,wherein the modified operation of the HVAC system prevents therefrigerant from entering the enclosed space.